I read this wonderful story to my twin girls when I was homeschooling them, and I was surprised that they remembered it years later.  They told me they remembered the story about Curdie and the pigeon because it reminded them of the Bible story about the Holy Spirit descending upon Jesus when he was baptized. 

I read the book online for free from Project Gutenberg, The Princess and Curdie- free pdf 

To summarize, Wikipedia states, “The book is the sequel to The Princess and the Goblin…..As the years go by, Curdie begins to hunt for pleasure. He also slowly begins to doubt Irene’s story of her great-great-grandmother.  One day, he shoots down a white pigeon.  Curdie then remembers Irene’s tale of her grandmother’s pigeons, assumes the one he has shot down was one of them, and becomes aware of his folly.  A light appears at the roof of the castle, and Curdie follows it.  There, Curdie meets the old Princess, who appears small and withered, contrary to Irene’s descriptions.  The old Princess gently tells Curdie of his wrong thinking, and he confesses. Because he now believes, the pigeon heals.  He is then told to keep his bow and arrows but use them for good instead of bad things.  The old Princess then tells Curdie he must go on a special quest.  Before she sends him, she burns his hands in her special fire of roses.  His cleansed hands now possess the ability to feel the hands of his fellow men and detect what kind of person (or beast) they are on the inside.  She also gives Curdie’s father a special emerald to keep while Curdie is away on the quest.  If Curdie is in danger, the emerald will change color, to alert his father to go after him.  Curdie is given a monstrous yet friendly beast as his only travelling companion. Lina saves him from many perils as they travel to Gwyntystorm.  Once they reach their destination, Curdie’s task becomes clear: he finds himself at the King’s palace, where the King lies weak and ill in his bedchamber with his daughter Irene his only nurse.  Having sneaked in to spy on what is going on and eavesdrop on the palace servants, Curdie realizes that the King’s doctor is actually slowly poisoning him. The palace servants and courtiers have all become morally corrupt and enemies of the king.  Not one can be trusted and both the Princess and the King are in mortal danger so Curdie realizes why the Old Princess has sent him: he must save the king from the plot to poison him and steal his kingdom by forcibly marrying his daughter Princess Irene to an evil pretender. With the aid of the old Princess, who has been disguised as a housemaid, the king, his daughter, and the kingdom are saved. Curdie and Princess Irene are later married and rule the kingdom after the king dies.”

 Some of my favorite quotes from the story:

 Dan MacDonald states the book with the Lathrop illustrations are his favorite for this story, and Kirk is a close second.

 I ordered the book with the Lathrop illustrations from Abe Books.